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Draft:Waiting period of widowhood

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Waiting period of widowhood (Arabic: عِدَّةُ الوَفاة, transliteration: 'iddat al-wafat) is the mandatory waiting period a woman must observe following the death of her husband, during which she is prohibited from marrying. Based on the Verse of Tarabbus, jurists have established this duration as four months and ten days. This ruling applies universally, regardless of whether intercourse occurred prior to the husband's death, or whether the marriage was permanent or temporary. The obligation extends even to menopausal women. However, if the woman is pregnant by her deceased husband, her 'idda continues until she gives birth or until four months and ten days have elapsed, whichever period is longer.

According to the rulings of jurists, contracting a marriage with a woman during her 'iddat al-wafat is haram. If both parties are aware of this prohibition yet proceed with the marriage, the contract is void and they become eternally haram to one another, even if no intercourse takes place. Conversely, if they were ignorant of the ruling and did not engage in intercourse, the contract is void, but they are permitted to remarry upon the conclusion of the 'idda.

The 'iddat al-wafat commences from the moment the woman is informed of her husband's death, even if the actual death occurred significantly earlier. During this period, it is obligatory for the woman to observe hidad (mourning by refraining from adornment). It is also established that a non-pregnant woman in 'iddat al-wafat is not entitled to maintenance (nafaqa); however, a pregnant woman may receive maintenance allocated from the share of the fetus.

Islamic jurisprudence identifies circumstances beyond the natural death of a husband that necessitate the observance of 'iddat al-wafat. For instance, in the case of a missing husband (mafqūd al-athar) regarding whom there is no news of life or death, the prevailing juristic opinion states that the Shari'a judge may grant the woman a revocable divorce, after which she must observe 'iddat al-wafat. Additionally, if a husband becomes an innate apostate (murtad al-fiṭrī), the marriage is immediately annulled, and the woman is required to observe 'iddat al-wafat.

Concept and Commencement

'Iddat al-wafat denotes the interval during which a woman is precluded from remarrying subsequent to her husband's death.[1] For a non-pregnant woman, this duration is fixed at four months and ten days. This requirement is absolute, applying irrespective of whether the marriage was permanent or temporary, and regardless of whether the marriage was consummated.[2] Even menopausal women are subject to this ruling.[3] There is a consensus among Shi'a scholars regarding the obligation of 'iddat al-wafat.[4] Sahib al-Jawahir asserts that the ruling derived from the Qur'an 2:234 encompasses all women—whether young or old, Muslim or Dhimmi, and whether the marriage was consummated or not.[5] He cites numerous narrations to substantiate this position.[6]

Jurists hold that the 'idda begins when the news of the husband's death reaches the wife, even if the death occurred much earlier.[7] It is further noted that establishing the commencement of the 'idda does not require the rigorous standard of Shari'a proof, such as the testimony of two just witnesses; the report of a single just witness suffices.[8]

The duration is calculated according to lunar months. If the husband dies in the middle of a lunar month, the calculation is adjusted so that the total period equals four lunar months and ten days.[9] 'Iddat al-wafat differs from the waiting period of divorce ('iddat al-talaq) in distinct ways; notably, 'iddat al-wafat involves an aspect of mourning, which is why it is calculated by months rather than menstrual cycles and requires the observance of hidad (abstinence from adornment).[10]

Waiting Period for Pregnant Women

If a woman is pregnant, she must observe the longer of the two terms (ab'ad al-ajalayn): either "four months and ten days" or "the time of delivery."[11] Sahib al-Jawahir affirms this view, grounding it in the Qur'an 65:2 and the Verse of Tarabbus.[12]

Maintenance and Marriage Rulings

In Imami jurisprudence, a non-pregnant woman observing 'iddat al-wafat is not entitled to maintenance.[13] According to Sahib al-Riyad, the prevalent view is that a pregnant widow is also ineligible for maintenance unless it is drawn from the fetus's inheritance share, a point on which there is some disagreement.[14]

Jurists strictly forbid marrying a woman during her 'iddat al-wafat.[15] Three specific scenarios are delineated:

  • If one or both parties are aware of the prohibition and nonetheless marry, the contract is void and they become eternally haram to each other, regardless of whether intercourse occurred.[16]
  • If both were unaware of the ruling but intercourse took place, they become eternally haram.
  • If both were unaware and no intercourse occurred, the contract is void, but they may remarry upon the conclusion of the 'idda.[17]

Death During the 'Idda of Divorce

Should the husband die while the wife is observing the 'idda of a revocable divorce, the divorce 'idda is terminated, and she must commence 'iddat al-wafat from the date of his death.[18] Conversely, if death occurs during an irrevocable divorce (bāʾin), the woman completes only the 'idda of divorce and is not required to observe 'iddat al-wafat.[19]

Other Circumstances Necessitating 'Iddat al-Wafat

One such instance is the disappearance of the husband (mafqūd al-athar). If there is no news of him and he has no assets to provide maintenance, the Shari'a judge may grant a divorce. This is classified as a revocable divorce,[20] yet the woman is obligated to observe 'iddat al-wafat.[21]

Additionally, if a husband becomes an innate apostate (murtad al-fiṭrī), the marriage is immediately annulled, and the woman must observe 'iddat al-wafat.[22]

See Also

Notes

  1. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, p. 211.
  2. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām, 1408 AH, vol. 2, p. 532; Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Rawḍat al-bahiyya, 1410 AH, vol. 2, p. 107.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Aḥkām-i khānivāda, 1389 Sh, p. 459.
  4. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, p. 211.
  5. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, p. 274.
  6. ↑ See: Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, 1409 AH, vol. 22, pp. 235-239.
  7. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 322.
  8. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 322.
  9. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 321.
  10. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 321.
  11. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, pp. 274-275.
  12. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, p. 276.
  13. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 4, p. 254.
  14. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī Karbalāʾī, Riyāḍ al-masāʾil, 1418 AH, vol. 12, p. 176.
  15. ↑ Gulpāyagānī, Wasīlat al-najāt (al-muḥashshā), 1352 Sh, vol. 3, p. 188.
  16. ↑ Banī Hāshimī Khomeinī, Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ, 1424 AH, vol. 2, p. 470.
  17. ↑ Shahīd al-Thānī, Masālik al-afhām, 1413 AH, vol. 7, p. 335; Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 268.
  18. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1404 AH, vol. 32, p. 230.
  19. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1392 Sh, vol. 2, p. 321.
  20. ↑ Najafī, Jawāhir al-kalām, 1362 Sh, vol. 32, p. 293; [[1](https://www.sistani.org/persian/book/26578/6481/) Official website of the office of Ayatollah Sistani].
  21. ↑ Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Al-Mukhtaṣar al-nāfiʿ, 1418 AH, vol. 1, p. 210.
  22. ↑ Imam Khomeini, Taḥrīr al-wasīla, 1421 AH, vol. 2, p. 367.

References

  • Banī Hāshimī Khomeinī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥasan. Tawḍīḥ al-masāʾil-i marājiʿ. Qom, Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1424 AH.
  • Gulpāyagānī, Sayyid Muḥammad Riḍā. Wasīlat al-najāt (al-muḥashshā). Qom, Dār al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1352 Sh.
  • Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt, 1409 AH.
  • Ibn Barrāj, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. Al-Muhadhdhab. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī, 1406 AH.
  • Ibn Ḥamza, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī. Al-Wasīla ilā nayl al-faḍīla. Qom, Maktabat Ayatollah al-Marʿashī al-Najafī, 1408 AH.
  • Ibn Saʿīd, Yaḥyā b. Aḥmad. Al-Jāmiʿ li-l-sharāʾiʿ. Qom, Muʾassisa Sayyid al-Shuhadāʾ, 1405 AH.
  • Imam Khomeini, Sayyid Rūḥallāh. Taḥrīr al-wasīla. Tehran, Muʾassisa Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imam Khomeini, 1392 Sh.
  • Iṣfahānī, Abū l-Ḥasan al-. Wasīlat al-najāt. Qom, Muʾassisa Tanẓīm wa Nashr-i Āthār-i Imam Khomeini, 1380 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Aḥkām-i khānivāda. Qom, Madrasa-yi Imam Ali b. Abi Talib (a), 1389 Sh.
  • Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Al-Mukhtaṣar al-nāfiʿ. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Maṭbūʿāt al-Dīniyya, 1418 AH.
  • Muḥaqqiq al-Ḥillī, Jaʿfar b. al-Ḥasan al-. Sharāʾiʿ al-Islām fī masāʾil al-ḥalāl wa al-ḥarām. Qom, Ismāʿīlīyān, 1408 AH.
  • Najafī, Muḥammad Ḥasan al-. Jawāhir al-kalām fī sharḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Beirut, Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 7th ed., 1404 AH.
  • Shahīd al-Thānī, Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Rawḍat al-bahiyya fī sharḥ al-lumʿat al-Dimashqiyya. Qom, Kitābfurūshī-yi Dāwarī, 1410 AH.
  • Shahīd al-Thānī, Zayn al-Dīn b. ʿAlī al-. Masālik al-afhām ilā tanqīḥ sharāʾiʿ al-Islām. Qom, Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 1413 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī Karbalāʾī, Sayyid ʿAlī. Riyāḍ al-masāʾil. Qom, Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt, 1418 AH.
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